Brookwood Medical Center is featured in a July 28 advertisement in the “America’s Best Hospitals” issue of US News & World Report to commemorate their receipt of Get With The Guidelines Gold Performance Achievement Award in both Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and Heart Failure (HF).    Brookwood Medical Center is the only hospital in Birmingham and the only one of two Alabama hospitals to receive two Gold Performance Achievement Awards as recognized in US News & World Report.   

Hospitals are recognized in each category in which they achieve at least 85 percent compliance to Get With The Guidelines measures.  Those hospitals marking 85 percent compliance for 24 consecutive months are given the Gold Performance Achievement Award.   

Get With The Guidelines is a hospital-based quality-improvement program designed to ensure that hospitals consistently care for cardiac and stroke patients following the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations.  The program addresses coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke.  Currently more than 1,450 hospitals participate in the program. 

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s advertisement recognizes Brookwood Medical Center’s commitment and success in performance achievement.  

“The American Heart Association is pleased to recognize its top Get With The Guidelines participants,” said. Lee Schwamm, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Vice Chairman of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.  “Healthcare providers who use Get With The Guidelines are armed with the latest evidence-based guidelines and immediate access to clinical decision support, using a set of tools that have been shown to improve delivery of evidence-based care.  The goal of this initiative is to improve the quality of life and help reduce deaths and disability among patients with heart disease and stroke.” 

 “We are proud that the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have chosen the ‘America’s Best Hospitals’ issue of US News & World Report to recognize Brookwood Medical Center for our achievements in their Get With The Guidelines program,” said Sue Esleck, Vice President Vice President of Quality and Resource Management for Brookwood Medical Center.  “Get With The Guidelines gives our professionals the tools and reports they need to effectively treat our coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke patients.”

More About Get With The Guidelines

Get With The Guidelines^SM (GWTG) is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that empowers healthcare teams to save lives and reduce healthcare costs by helping hospitals follow evidence-based guidelines and recommendations.   For more information, visit americanheart.org/getwiththeguidelines.

Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care^® have demonstrated their commitment to quality care, resulting in better overall outcomes for cardiac patients. Each facility meets stringent clinical criteria, developed in collaboration with expert physicians' and medical organizations' recommendations, including the American College of Cardiology and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and is subject to periodic reevaluation as criteria continue to evolve.  As a designated Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care^®, Brookwood Medical Center provides a full range of cardiac care services, including inpatient cardiac care, cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac catheterization and cardiac surgery.

The selection criteria used in designating Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care include:

·      an established cardiac care program, performing required annual volumes for certain procedures

·     appropriate experience of its cardiac team, including subspecialty board certification for interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons

·      an established acute care inpatient facility, including intensive care, emergency and a full range of cardiac services

·      full accreditation

·      low overall complication and mortality rates

·      a comprehensive quality management program

“We are pleased that our hospital has been recognized by CIGNA for the high quality care that we provide,” said Garry Gause, president and chief executive officer of Brookwood Medical Center. “Our physicians and staff work very hard to provide quality patient care, and these designations are evidence of the high standard of care we deliver every day.”

The CIGNA designations are based on the hospital’s effectiveness in treating the selected condition or performing the procedure. The designations are based in part of a hospital’s CMS Hospital Compare measures, Leapfrog Patient Safety Measures, mortality and complication rates.

 Brookwood Medical Center received designations in the areas of Total Joint Replacement, Surgical Spine, Cardiovascular Surgery, Electrophysiology and Interventional Cardiology.

 “We are pleased that our hospital has been recognized by UnitedHealthcare for the high quality care that we provide,” said Garry Gause, president and chief executive officer of Brookwood Medical Center. “Our physicians and staff work very hard to provide quality patient care, and these designations are evidence of the high standard of care we deliver every day.”

The UnitedHealth Premium designations are based on detailed information about programmatic structure, patient care processes and clinical outcomes that are submitted by the hospital to UnitedHealthcare.

Under the GWTG–CAD program, patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers in the hospital and receive smoking cessation/weight management counseling as well as referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before they are discharged. Hospitals that receive the GWTG-CAD Gold Performance Achievement Award have demonstrated for 24 consecutive months that at least 85 percent of its eligible coronary patients (without contraindications) are discharged following the American Heart Association’s recommended treatment guidelines.

The Healthcare Marketing Report has announced winners of its 23^rd Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards.  Brookwood Medical Center received a gold award for its “What Hurts” orthopedic advertising campaign.  

The campaign, which consists of television, print and outdoor advertising, was produced locally by DavisDenny Advertising and Related Services.

In addition, the hospital received a merit award for its Community Report publication, produced by the Boner Group based in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Judges for the Healthcare Advertising Awards consisted of a national panel of healthcare marketers, advertising creative directors, advertising professionals, healthcare consultants, marketing professors and the editorial board of Healthcare Marketing Report.

The Healthcare Advertising Awards is the oldest, largest and most prestigious healthcare advertising awards competition. A record three thousand-nine hundred entries were submitted from every state in the country and multiple foreign countries.   Healthcare Marketing Report is the nation’s leading publication covering health marketing with over 5,000 readers each month.

Brookwood Medical Center

Birmingham, AL –  On March 28, Brookwood Medical Center held a dedication ceremony of its new Patricia S. Bendall Art Gallery. 

Mrs. Bendall began working at Brookwood Medical Center in 1979 as Coordinator of Volunteer Services until her retirement in 2003.    While working at Brookwood, she also served as the curator of the Brookwood Art Gallery.  Due to various construction projects in recent years, the art gallery was removed from its original location in 2003.  

Friends, family and former co-workers attended the dedication ceremony held in the hospital’s main lobby, the art gallery’s new location.  “It is an honor to have Pat’s name associated with such a Brookwood tradition,” says Garry Gause, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookwood Medical Center.  “Pat played an integral role in the history of our hospital, and having this new art gallery named in her honor will be a welcome reminder of her wonderful work and dedication to Brookwood and its Auxilliary.”

Before her career as the Director of Volunteer Services at Brookwood, Mrs. Bendall studied art in Atlanta for a year and locally with Mary Lou Cost and Fay Hutto.  She also took watercolor classes from Richard Brough of Virginia, when he was invited to hold workshops in Birmingham.  She is a member of the Birmingham Museum of Art. 

A native of Mississippi, Pat received her degree from the University of Mississippi with a double major in English and Speech with a minor in Art. As a child, she became interested in art from her paternal grandmother, who was a self-taught artist in North Mississippi. 

The art gallery’s inaugural showing will feature Mrs. Bendall’s works in watercolor, acrylics and oils, which will be on display until the end of April.  Other area artists will be featured in the coming months, and will be available for purchase in the Brookwood Auxilliary offices.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Debbie Hollenstein at 205-877-2178.

Birmingham – The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association has chosen Brookwood Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care. Blue Distinction is a national program that the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association hopes will create an unprecedented level of healthcare transparency. Through this type of recognition, Blue Cross hopes to achieve two goals: to engage health care consumers to provide for more informed healthcare decisions, and to collaborate with providers to improve quality outcomes and affordability.

“We are very pleased to receive this important recognition from Blue Cross,” says Garry Gause, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookwood Medical Center. “As always, Blue Cross and Blue Shield is showing leadership and forward-thinking in providing avenues for hospitals and consumers to share information in a positive and productive way.”

As a designated Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care, Brookwood Medical Center provides a full range of cardiac care services, including inpatient cardiac care, cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac catheterization and cardiac surgery. The goal of the Blue Distinction Centers is to give consumers the information they need about complex conditions and procedures and specialty care resources, empowering them to make more effective healthcare decisions.

Selection criteria for the Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care were developed with the objectives of improving overall patient outcomes and delivering better value. The criteria used to designate the Centers were established through collaboration with expert physician panels and national organizations.

• Full-service, accredited impatient hospital facility;
• Program must be performing a required volume of percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass graft surgeries and provide a full range of services including inpatient cardiac care and cardiac rehabilitation;
• Sub-specialty board certification of cardiac team;
• Ongoing quality management and improvement programs; and
• Cardiac care processes and outcomes for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass graft surgery including evaluation of complication and mortality rates.
  

Brookwood Medical Center Receives Highest Honors

Caregiver Recognized for Exceptional Work

          April , 2005 – Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) announced  that Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., led by Chief Executive Officer Garry Gause and the administrative team, has been selected to the company’s 2005 Circle of Excellence.  Additionally, Jackie Dillard, Director of the Emergency Department at Brookwood, has been inducted into the Caregiver Hall of Fame.

            Tenet’s annual Circle of Excellence award recognizes the winning hospitals’ accomplishments in a number of different areas and is intended to honor the teamwork, collaboration and cooperation that are required to operate a successful hospital.  Hospitals are evaluated based on such factors as high ratings for patient, employee and physician satisfaction, consistency of the hospital leadership team, proven success at overcoming difficult challenges, and financial performance.

            “Through the hard work and dedication of its leadership and staff, Brookwood Medical Center has become a role model for other Tenet hospitals and an essential part of the health care community in the area it serves,” said Reynold Jennings, Tenet’s chief operating officer.  “Under Garry’s leadership, Brookwood Medical Center strives to provide preeminent medical care for its patients, as well as excellent working conditions to attract and retain the best employees.  They are thoroughly deserving of Tenet’s highest award.”

Gause, Chief Operating Officer Neeysa Biddle, Chief Financial Officer Joe Denton and Chief Nursing Officer Jackie Martinek led the way to Brookwood’s success.  Under their leadership the hospital completed several expansion projects, including the addition of two new operating rooms.  The team has also worked hard to increase patient, employee and physician satisfaction. 

            Tenet’s regional executives nominate candidates for the Circle of Excellence from the hospitals they supervise. Winners are selected based on both objective criteria, such as patient, physician and employee satisfaction scores, and subjective evaluations. 

Jackie Dillard is absolutely dedicated to her staff, doctors, patients and families.  She is known for keeping her cool and running the Brookwood Emergency Department efficiently and effectively.  Jackie recently received the Alabama Hospital Association’s annual Healthcare Hero Award for her tireless work in serving the Birmingham community.  She was selected for this honor by a panel of judges who looked at applications from every hospital in the state of Alabama.

“Tenet is very fortunate to have dedicated, professional and compassionate people like Jackie in our hospitals,” said Trevor Fetter, Tenet’s president and chief executive officer.  “The Caregiver Award winner represents the best of who we are and what we stand for at Tenet, which is providing excellent quality care to our patients.  Jackie Dillard is thoroughly deserving of this honor.”      

Dillard is just one of four people inducted into this year’s Caregiver Hall of Fame and the only awardee from Tenet’s Florida-Alabama Region.  Caregiver award winners are nominated by their hospital’s CEO.  Winners are selected from dozens of nominees, based on both objective criteria, such as extraordinary examples of patient care, devotion to service, technical skills and comments from co-workers, patients and families, and physicians.

            Brookwood Medical Center, part of Tenet’s Central Northeast-Southern States Region, is a 586-bed medical center located at 2010 Brookwood Medical Center Drive in Birmingham, Ala.  The hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of the Birmingham area for over 30 years.  Brookwood Medical Center specializes in such major areas as women’s services, cardiovascular medicine and surgery, cancer, orthopedics, neurology and neurosurgery, psychiatric services, emergency services and more.  Other affiliated services and facilities include the  Brookwood Diagnostic Center, Women’s Diagnostic Center, MedPlex Diagnostic Center and the Medplex Surgery Center.  Brookwood Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.  To learn more about Brookwood Medical Center, visit www.bwmc.com.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related health care services.  Tenet’s hospitals aim to provide the best possible care to every patient who comes through their doors, with a clear focus on quality and service.  Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.

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Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements.  Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2004, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K.  Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as we cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect our ability to achieve the results estimated.  We make no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.